Coal Facts

Coal is a combustible mineral formed from the remains of trees, ferns and other decayed plants that existed and died up to 400 million years ago in some cases.

Coal is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel, more commonly found than natural gas and oil and it is second only to oil as the most common source of energy production that is used today in the Western world. Coal is used widely because it can be obtained relatively easily and it has a high-energy content.

Coal can be used for a number of important reasons but primarily it is used in the large-scale production of energy and in the manufacturing industry.

Coal provides over 23% of the world’s energy needs and it generates approximately 39% of the world’s electricity. Almost 70% of total global steel production is also dependent on burning coal.

The main types of coal are anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite.

International trade in coal has expanded faster over the last decade than trade in any other commodity.

Worldwide, there is more electricity generated from burning coal than there is using any other energy source.

Coal generates approximately half of all the electricity used in the United States.

Coal is by far the cheapest source of power fuel per million Btu, averaging less than one third of the price of petroleum and natural gas.

Coal emits 29% more carbon per unit of energy than oil, and 80% more carbon than natural gas.